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It Affects You
George Bush famously said, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." At the time, I thought I knew what he meant. Of course, it turned out to be nothing more than a political ploy, but that's a topic for another post.
But since the Republican Noise Machine loves absolutes, how about I give them another one: either you are with us, or you are with the people who abandoned the residents of New Orleans to death, murder, disease, starvation and despair.
The line in the sand is drawn, and to stand with Bush is to share his guilt.
(Long rant below the jump)
The Republican Noise Machine, as powerful as it is, cannot not work in a vacuum. It works because people give it "safe harbor." It works because the Washington Post and the New York Times and the cable news networks carry Bush's water. It works because these institutions reprint deliberately false information. It works because they apply a ridiculous sense of "balance" which means if they print a hard fact condemning a Conservative, they must also print any fiction created to defend that Conservative. It works because the press continues to print whatever they are fed and, even after repeatedly getting burned, they return for more.
And it's not just the media. It's also the wingnuts who continue to support this Conservative administration in general and specifically defend its role in one of the worst failures of basic government in U.S. history. This is not some policy difference or some failure to pave an old, beaten up highway. This is government failing to do its job on the most basic level, failing its most basic commitment to the people it serves. This is negligence which resulted in perhaps thousands of deaths which could have been avoided if the Bush administration cared enough or was competent enough to do the right thing.
So, to use language Bush would understand, you are either with us or you are with those who decided to let New Orleans die. If the media continues to carry their water, they are nothing more than apologists for those who in the words of Aaron Broussard committed bureaucratic murder. If you are a wingnut who stays on board the Good Ship Bush, defending their actions after Katrina, you have placed yourself in league with those who's actions and lack of actions cost thousands of lives.
So let me make this absolutely clear: if you defend this administration's actions in the wake of Katrina, you are no better than those who are responsible for the perhaps thousands of unnecessary deaths in New Orleans.
Let's be honest: Bush's PR blitz is going to work. Before you object, you know you are thinking it too. We've seen it work too many times before. Bush avoids accountability like Ann Coulter avoids a good meal. And in the Right Wing Noise Machine he's got one of the most powerful propaganda mechanisms ever assembled to back him up.
In these last few days, we've seen Team Bush go into overdrive to shore up damage done to his presidency by his administrations utter failure in New Orleans and in the wider Gulf States. We saw that effort in full swing before all the victims got help. Hell, that effort was in full swing before just about any victim received federal help. That shows where their priorities and it should anger every single American.
We know what is coming. The "I Didn't Do It Boy" is going to be framed as this compassionate leader doing everything he can to help the poor victims of Katrina. At the same time, the Noise Machine is going to churn out story after story finding new ways to shift the blame to locals. Anonymous "administration officials" will be cited as saying such and such governor/mayor/sheriff botched/hampered/neglected. So called "serious" journalists are going to start discussing the White House spin. Even if dismissed, that they would even publicly consider arguments they know to be deliberately false will be a victory for the Noise Machine, adding credibility where none is deserved.
Now, even the most hardened Noise Machine veteran has got to know how seriously the administration fucked up and just how difficult it will be to remove the hideous stench of this massive dereliction of duty. So they will do two of the things they do best: they will smear and obfuscate. They will pump out negative information about the local authorities, about the victims, and about any individuals who emerge as symbols of the administration's neglect. They will pump out deliberately false information and change the subject as often as possible, hoping if they can't improve Bush's image, at least they can level the playing field by destroying others.
That doesn't mean they won't try to help Bush's image. We'll see, as we've already seen, photo-ops of Bush "compassionately" consoling Katrina's victims. We'll read reports of federal money Bush channeled into reconstruction and assistance. The photo ops will be faked, and while the money may be real, it will be too little too late. We are not always as bad as our worst deeds nor as good as our best ones. In this case Bush let New Orleans die. What good deed can he do for these folks that would ever make up for that? If he wanted to save these folks, he would have sent the cavalry in as soon as possible. If he was committed to protecting America, he never would have allowed such a limp DHS to be built under his nose. But if he just wants to save his political ass, he'll do some good deeds down the road to show himself as a "Compassionate Conservative." Bush had his chance to do the right thing, the human thing, and he did not take it. Everything he does after has to be defined by that. Given the choices he made, how can people possibly not look at his future acts of "compassion" as anything other than a bribe to save his precious political capital (worth more than human lives)?
So yes, his PR blitz will work. At least a little. Some people will happily line up on Bush's side. But whether it's the wackos at Free Republic or the editors at the Washington Post who keep the Noise Machine in business, we should ask them a question the Republican Noise Machine will be proud of: will you stand with us, or will you stand on the side which left thousands U.S. citizens to die?
The line in the sand is drawn, and to stand with Bush is to share his guilt.
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